Scaffold safety regulations require toeboards to be used around the edge of an elevated work platform to prevent tools etc. being inadvertently dropped from a significant height. The most common scaffold systems include a toeboard arrangement that is secured to the scaffold vertical members. The toeboards can be directly secured to connectors provided on the uprights or may use specialized connectors provided on the uprights to locate the toeboards. In one system, steel toeboards are fixed in place by locating them behind wedge bracket connectors that fix the ledgers of the scaffold system to the vertical uprights. In this arrangement, the toeboard system is essentially independent of the plank system. A major disadvantage of this arrangement is that the planks defining the work platform do not always fit well on the ledgers, and there is a possibility for a gap to be present between the toeboard and the planks. Some regulations require that this gap be not greater than one inch or the scaffold may be deemed as unsafe.
It is also known in the industry to use commonly available steel channels (typically sold as metal studding) that are fixed to the scaffold vertical members by clamps or are sometimes merely wired to the vertical uprights. It is also common to use wooden toeboards that are again connected to the scaffold vertical uprights by wire or nailed to the scaffold planks.
In the UK, toeboards are often a scaffold plank that is used on edge and secured to the vertical uprights using clips or clamps, or perhaps nailing them in place.
The above prior art toeboard systems operate essentially independent from the planks as the toeboards are all secured by attaching them to the vertical posts of the scaffold.
Toeboard systems in general are considered by the industry as a necessity to meet the legal requirements, but not considered a major component of a system. For these reasons, the expense of a fully integrated toeboard system is not popular, and for cost reasons, wood or other low cost materials that are readily available are tied or otherwise secured to the uprights.
A problem exists given that scaffold frames are of a predetermined width, typically five feet in North America, and require approximately six planks to fully deck the frame. It is also known to use two 19 inch wide aluminum plywood planks if only partial decking is used. Unfortunately, with partial decking the vertical uprights are not in the appropriate location for securement of the toeboards and a further securing arrangement must be designed on site.
One system that is a major departure from the above is shown in Canadian Patent Application 2,210,952 where a toeboard system is designed for securement to an end connector of a scaffold plank. The scaffold plank system has specialized corner connectors for engaging a side rail and engaging an end cap of the scaffold plank. This corner connector includes a port for receiving a projecting securing member of a toeboard. The toeboard includes these securing members at opposite ends thereof, and are of the same length as the plank. This type of toeboard plank system has not been widely accepted in the industry. With this system, the toeboard is fixed to the securement locations at opposite ends of a scaffold plank, and the system requires dedicated planks and cooperating toeboards. For many owners of scaffolding, the additional cost and equipment cannot be justified.
The present invention seeks to overcome a number of difficulties associated with toeboard systems and provide a more cost effective solution and flexible system.